Grain elevator telescoping head

ABSTRACT

A grain elevator system for an elevator which includes a crib means defining an elongated elevator enclosure with a delivery head disposed at the upper end thereof, an elevator disposed within the crib enclosure including a bucket elevator system having a foot pulley journaled for rotation on a foot shaft, a head pulley journaled for rotation on a head shaft, and a continuous belt means arranged therebetween and supporting a plurality of buckets therealong, the elevator including an integral head enclosure means having a grain discharge end and a throat receiving end along with means for supporting the head shaft. The system further includes throat means secured to the crib enclosure defining an enclosure for the bucket elevator system, the throat means being secured to the elongated sides of the crib enclosure and having a throat opening at the upper end thereof. The throat is slidably coupled to an opening formed in the throat receiving end of the elevator head enclosure means in order to accommodate relative motion between the throat means and the head enclosure means. An extension is formed on the upper end of the throat, the extension having an opening therein extending upwardly from the opening formed in the throat receiving end of the head enclosure means, this throat opening having laterally disposed guide means spanning an opening formed in the throat and arranged to accommodate telescoping motion relative to the head enclosure means. A collapsible baffle means is provided which extends across the opening formed in the extension, the baffle means comprising a plurality of elongated integral plates, each plate being linked to its next lower neighbor to form a closure over the opening in said throat extension, with each of the integral plates being adapted to fall freely from its next lower neighbor when free from the laterally disposed guide means.

United States Patent elevator system having a foot pulley joumaled for rotation on [72] Inventor Wallace M.Smith 6107 Valewood Drive, Minnetonka. Minn. 55343 afoot shaft, a head pulley joumaled for rotation on a head g a grain discharge end and a throat receiving end along with means for supporting the head shaft. The system further includes throat l e mm m 8 A d t. WM AHP UM NW means secured to the crib enclosure defining an enclosure for GRAIN ELEVATOR TELESCOPING READ the bucket elevator system, the throat means being secured to 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

the elongated sides of the crib enclosure and having a throat opening at the upper end thereof. The throat is pled to an openingformed in the throat receivi slidably coung end of the elevatorhead enclosure means in order to accommodate relative motion between the throat means and the head enclosure means. An extension is formed on the upper end of the throat the extension having an opening therein extendin from the opening formed in the throat receivin g upwardly [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS g end of the head enclosure means, this throat opening having laterally disposed guide means spanning an opening formed in the throat and arranged to accommodate telescoping motion relative to the head enclosure means. A collapsible baffle means is provided which extends across the opening formed in the extension, the baffle means comprising a plurality of elongated integral plates, each plate being linked to its next lower neighbor to form a closure over the opening in said throat extension, with each of the integral plates being adapted to fall freely from its next lower neighbor when free from the laterally disposed guide means.

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SHEET 2 UF 2 INVENTOR WALLACE M. SMITH ATTORNEY GRAIN ELEVATOR TELESCOPIN G HEAD The present invention relates generally to an improved system for handling grain in a grain elevator, and more particularly to a system which is particularly adaptable for use in grain elevator structures fabricated from wooden cribbing.-

In the construction and erection of materials handling equipment for grain elevator systems, it is required that the structure be provided with an endless belt elevator system which comprises discharge-type buckets forming an elevator network on an endless chain or belt, these buckets being loaded by material'which flows thereinto at the base of the elevator, and is discharged at the top by centrifugal action as the buckets pass over the head pulley. This structure is, as can be appreciated, standard and routine in the art and each grain elevator necessarily is provided with such a system. In the construction of grain elevators, it is frequently desirable to fabricate these enclosures from wood, such as wood cribbing or the like. Wood is traditionally susceptible to'dimensional change upon exposure to various loading and'ambient conditions, including wet conditions or dry conditions, and hence in an elevator with a height of, for example, 100 feet, considerable dimensional changes can occur upon changes in ambient conditions. Inasmuch as the elevator assembly includes portions which are coupled to the walls of the enclosure, the extremities of the arrangement will necessarily have to accommodate the dimensional changes, and this accommodation must occur without sacrificing the integrity of the unit. In other words, the elevator system must be protected and enclosed from one end to the other, without requiring unusual or significant changes.

In the past, it has been traditional to employ'a telescoping throat which is secured to a discharge head at the top of the elevator, this telescoping throat having an extension opening which is utilized to accommodate telescoping or relative motion between the throat and the head. As the throat drops relative to the head, a movable sleeve or enclosure will be caused to slide or otherwise accommodate this relative motion, however upon experiencing such sliding motion, it is necessary to tend the system in order to remove any excess material, such as sheet metal or the like, which may extend above the opening in the telescoping head. In other words, when the elevator is initially constructed, it has, for example, an elevation of 100 feet, however upon experiencing shrinkage of the cribbing, it may shrink to a somewhat lower height, and this extent of shrinkage must necessarily be reflected in the entire length of the throat, and thus the extreme upper end of the telescoping throat must be cut back in order to preserve clearance between the upper end of the throat and the roof of the elevator crib enclosure. Such an operation is time consuming, cumbersome, and expensive, since frequent trips may be necessary to accommodate the dimensional changes prior to achieving stabilization of the elevator enclosure.

In accordance with the preferred modification of the present invention, a grain elevator system is provided which utilizes a stationary head and a telescoping throat, the telescoping throat having an opening which is adapted to form a closure with a stationary head, the opening in the throat extending over and above the top of the discharge head. The opening formed in the extension portion of the telescoping throat is provided with a plurality of elongated integral plates, each plate being linked together to its next lower neighbor to form a closure over the extension portion of the telescoping throat. As the telescoping throat drops relative to the stationary head in response to either a shrinking of the wooden enclosure due to changes in moisture content of the structure or a shifting due to loading, individual elongated integral plates will fall away from the flanged channel, or other retaining means, and the system therefore is always fast to the walls of to alternately drop upon shrinkage and reform a closure upon expansion when the telescoping throat may move upwardly in response to an extension of the height of the elevator enclosure.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved grain elevator system which employs an elevator assembly enclosed within an enclosure means, the elevator assembly having a telescoping throat at the upper end thereof, the throat being coupled to a head enclosure in the elevator, the throat being coupled to the main enclosure and being arranged to accommodate relative motion which occurs between the throat and the head enclosure means.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a grain elevator system with an elevator means for controlling flow of grain within the enclosure, along with a discharge head and a telescoping throat mechanism coupled to the discharge head, the telescoping throat having an opening above the discharge head with a plurality of individual plates, each linked to its next lower neighbor, for maintaining a debristight enclosure while accommodating a relative shifting between the telescoping throat and the stationary head.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an improved grain elevator system which may be employed with elevator. enclosures fabricated from materials of construction which respond dimensionally to changes in ambient environments, and which response can be accommodated without requiring constant attention and without requiring extended crawl areas above the throat area.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the following specification, appended claims, and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a grain elevator system utilizing the concept of the present invention, and showing the crib enclosure, the stationary head, and telescoping throat, along with the continuous belt elevator means;

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view on an enlarged scale, showing the details of the head and telescoping throat adjacent the top of the elevator crib; and

the enclosure and is substantially debris-free, and thus does not require constant care and attention. As an alternative, means may be provided to permit the individual integral plates FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the plurality of integral plates linked together to form a collapsible enclosure structure.

In accordance with the preferred modification of the present invention, and as illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the grain elevator system generally designated 10 includes ground supported crib means or structure 11 defining an elongated elevator enclosure 12 with a head 13 disposed at the upper end thereof. The system is further provided with an elevator generally designated 15, which includes an endless belt 16 having a plurality of individual discharge-type buckets 17-17 secured thereto, as is conventional in elevator systems. A head pulley 18 is provided at the upper end of the elevator system, and a foot pulley 19 is provided at the system base. A loading area is provided at the base of the foot wheel or pulley 19, such as is shown at 20, this providing a means for loading the individual buckets as they dig or scoop material up at the base of the foot pulley 19. In order to enclose the elevator 15, an enclosure is provided with a front panel 22, a rear panel 23, the upper end of the enclosure being defined as an upper throat area 24. The throat area 24 which is disposed just beneath the roof 25 will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

The enclosure formedby panels 22 and 23 is secured to the vertical walls such as the wall 11, and the head member 13 is supported by any suitable means, such as the elevator system supporting shafts or posts 2626. In addition, the head pulley 18 is joumaled for rotation on the head shaft 27, the foot pulley 19 being joumaled for rotation on the foot shaft 28. As is appropriate, the head shaft is joumaled within the confines of the lateral walls of the head 13, supported by posts 2626.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 2 of the drawings wherein the details of the head together with the telescoping throat are illustrated. As will be apparent from the drawings, the throat is sufficiently wide so as to encompass or confine the individual spans of the elevator 15. An opening may be provided at the top of wall 22 in order to accommodate for vertical shifting and motion of the system relative to the head 13. However, the head enclosure means has a grain discharge end as at 30 (FIG. 1), together with a throat receiving end as at 31. The upper throat area 24 if, of course, provided with an opening at the upper end, such as at 32, this opening being closed by the collapsible baffle means generally designated 33 to be more fully described hereinafter. The telescoping throat and the stationary head are arranged to move relatively, one to another, by means of the telescoping flanged connections such as are shown at 34 for example. In this arrangement, the stationary head is provided with laterally disposed U-shaped members which confine the individual flanges such as the flanges 36 and 37 which are formed laterally along the upper end of the telescoping throat 24. As a further detail shown in FIG. 2, at 39, the centerline of the head pulley and head shaft is illustrated. It will be appreciated that suitable bushings or bearings may be provided in the walls of the head 13 in order to accommodate the journaling of head shaft 27.

Attention is now directed to FIG, 3 of the drawings wherein some additional details of the collapsible plate 33 forming the closure on the telescoping throat are illustrated. In this connection, a plurality of elongated integral plates such as the elongated integral plates 41, 42, 43 and 44 are illustrated. These individual plates are linked together by means of the individual link elements such as at 45, these link elements coupling each of the individual integral plates to its next lower neighbor. The combined plates, such as the plates 41, 42, 43 and 44 form a closure over an opening which otherwise necessarily would exist in the top of the telescoping throat, thus preventing the ingress of debris and the like into the elevator structure 15. Inasmuch as the throat members 22 and 23 are coupled directly to the wall 11 of the crib enclosure, and inasmuch as the members forming the wall 11 are susceptible to dimensional changes upon a change in environmental conditions, a shrinking or lowering of this support member will drop the telescoping throat relative to the stationary head, and when this occurs, the individual integral linked plates will become disengaged from the flanges 36 and 37, and assume the configuration and disposition shown at FIG. 2, particularly for the plate member 41. As additional shrinkage occurs, additional members 42 and 43 may assume the disposition of the plate 41 as shown in FIG. 2, and if this occurs, there is no need for individual attention to the assembly.

If desired, the individual links, when fabricated as illustrated in FIG. 3, may provide a means accommodating a reloading of the individual plates 41 and 42 onto the flanges 36 and 37. For most purposes, however, it is not essential that this occur, since the initial dimensional change which normally occurs in a structure of this type is shrinkage, rather than expansion, thereby eliminating the real need for enabling the individual elements to reestablish connection with the flanges 36 and 37.

It will be appreciated that the structure shown herein is typical of structures which may be employed in grain elevator systems, particularly those grain elevators fabricated from wooden cribbing.-

What is claimed is:

1. In a grain elevator system:

a. crib means defining an elongated elevator enclosure with a head disposed at the upper end thereof;

b. an elevator within said crib enclosure including a bucket elevator system having a foot pulley journaled for rotation on a foot shaft, a head pulley journaled for rotation on a head shaft, and a continuous belt means arranged therebetween and supporting a plurality of buckets therealong;

c. head enclosure means secured to the top of said elongated elevator enclosure and having a grain discharge end and a throat receiving end along with horizontally aligned and spaced bearing means for supporting said head shaft;

d. means defining an enclosure for said bucket elevator system secured to the elongated sides of said crib enclosure and having a throat at the upper end thereof, said throat being slidably coupled to an opening formed in the throat receiving end of said head enclosure means;

e. an extension formed on the upper end of said throat having an opening extending upwardly from the opening formed in the throat receiving end of said head enclosure means and having laterally disposed guide means commensurate with and spanning an opening formed in said throat to accommodate telescoping motion relative to said head enclosure means; and

. collapsible baffle means extending across the opening formed in said extension, said baffle means comprising a plurality of elongated integral plates, each linked together to its next lower neighbor to form a closure over said opening, each of said integral plates being adapted to fall freely from its next lower neighbor upon downward relative movement of said throat extension.

2. The grain elevator system as defined in claim 1 being particularly characterized in that each of said plurality of elongated integral plates is linked to its next lower neighbor along the centerline thereof.

3. The grain elevator system as defined in claim I being particularly characterized in that the opening formed in said throat extension is equal in breadth to the opening formed in said throat means.

4. The grain elevator system as defined in claim 1 being par ticularly characterized in that means are provided to recouple said plurality of elongated integral plates to said extension throat upon upward motion of said throat.

5. The grain elevator system as defined in claim 1 being particularly characterized in that the lateral edges of said throat extension are laterally extending flanged surfaces. 

1. In a grain elevator system: a. crib means defining an elongated elevator enclosure with a head disposed at the upper end thereof; b. an elevator within said crib enclosure including a bucket elevator system having a foot pulley journaled for rotation on a foot shaft, a head pulley journaled for rotation on a head shaft, and a continuous belt means arranged therebetween and supporting a plurality of buckets therealong; c. head enclosure means secured to the top of said elongated elevator enclosure and having a grain discharge end and a throat receiving end along with horizontally aligned and spaced bearing means for supporting said head shaft; d. means defining an enclosure for said bucket elevator system secured to the elongated sides of said crib enclosure and having a throat at the upper end thereof, said throat being slidably coupled to an opening formed in the throat receiving end of said head enclosure means; e. an extension formed on the upper end of said throat having an opening extending upwardly from the opening formed in the throat receiving end of said head enclosure means and having laterally disposed guide means commensurate with and spanning an opening formed in said throat to accommodate telescoping motion relative to said head enclosure means; and f. collapsible baffle means extending across the opening formed in said extension, said baffle means comprising a plurality of elongated integral plates, each linked together to its next lower neighbor to form a closure over said opening, each of said integral plates being adapted to fall freely from its next lower neighbor upon downward relative movement of said throat extension.
 2. The grain elevator system as defined in claim 1 being particularly characterized in that each of said plurality of elongated integral plates is linked to its next lower neighbor along the centerlIne thereof.
 3. The grain elevator system as defined in claim 1 being particularly characterized in that the opening formed in said throat extension is equal in breadth to the opening formed in said throat means.
 4. The grain elevator system as defined in claim 1 being particularly characterized in that means are provided to recouple said plurality of elongated integral plates to said extension throat upon upward motion of said throat.
 5. The grain elevator system as defined in claim 1 being particularly characterized in that the lateral edges of said throat extension are laterally extending flanged surfaces. 